If you’re finding it difficult to stay focused at work, you know just how problematic it can be. Sometimes it feels as though you’re running around in circles and not getting anything done. Not only is this frustrating, but it can also negatively affect your reputation within your company as well as hurt your productivity. The good thing is that you can make some improvements to your focus levels at your workplace. After you practice the following tips, you should be much more productive and have the ability to accomplish more goals than usual.

One of the most common mistakes that people make at work is improper management of time. This can come from a number of things, but one of the biggest reasons is being distracted. When you cut out things like using social media websites or watching YouTube, you can stay ahead and not worry about slipping into a time killer. I realize that you may want to take a break from time to time, and that’s okay, but you’re going to have to set aside certain intervals for leisure.

A great way to stay focused and sharp is by setting small goals and knocking them out. One of the reasons that this is beneficial is because it allows you to feel as though you’re making progress. Knocking out small goals while taking a breather in between can be much more effective than trying to tackle everything at once.

Don’t forget to reward yourself with a break! When you try to tackle a huge workload non-stop, you’re going to get burnt out eventually. By having small routine breaks you’re going to allow yourself to stay much more focused without getting frustrated with your work load.

One of the best ways to keep on top of things is by starting early. When you arrive to work you should be well-rested and ready to take on your daily routine. Get some of the tasks that you find the most challenging finished at first and you will feel at ease throughout the rest of the day.

Now, this may seem obvious, but procrastination is a time vampire and it should be avoided at all costs. Rather than making up excuses to put off working, you should push yourself to get as much done as you can. This will be much easier when you follow the tip about taking small breaks.

Many athletes talk about seeing themselves win a big game before they go out to perform. Business professionals visualize seeing themselves closing a big deal before it happens. Study after study has shown that visualization can lead someone to more consistent success, but why? Can you actually visualize real success before it happens?

Some people might put faith in premonitions and dreams for this, but anyone who visualizes success before it happens will increase the chances of actually being successful. This is because the mind has a unique ability to gain skills from this exercise. When you run a visualization through your mind, you’re actually running a simulation where you can mentally practice how to get the best outcome.

If you haven’t tried visualization before, then here are some tips to help get you get started.

#1. Visualize the perfect scenario. Perfect practice is what leads to perfect results. Imagine what the perfect scenario will be so that you can achieve the best possible outcome for whatever upcoming event you have going on. Now run through the various tasks, conversations, sales pitches, and other work you’ll need to accomplish to achieve that best possible outcome.

#2. Treat this time as real work. Far too many people use visualization exercises after hours or right before they go to bed. Instead of fitting in visualization during your spare moments at the beginning or end of the day, schedule time during your work day to do it. A best practice here is to schedule visualization time somewhere in the first 2 hours of your day because your mind is the freshest at this point in the day. Even just 10 minutes to visualize how to achieve success can be a very worthwhile investment.

#3. Follow through like you would a business plan. When you create a business plan, you’re outlining specific goals that must be achieved to accomplish a specific end result. In visualization, the task is the same. You’ll need to progress through the different goals that you have, see how they can be accomplished perfectly, and then simulate how those results can translate into the overall plan in place that needs to be achieved.

#4. Think about roadblocks that may get in your way. Visualizing perfection is wonderful, but it cannot be truly successful unless you’re also willing to take a look at the various obstacles you may encounter. Think about the roadblocks that could get in your way and then visualize how you would get around that obstacle. Take several routes, see your success in each one, and then you’ll be prepared for virtually any scenario that may come your way. Do not allow the obstacle to win – ever.

#5. Make your visualization as detailed as possible. If you can include specific details within your visualization session, then you’ll be better prepared for the real life situation. Think about sights, smells, and even touch as you proceed through each task. Remember what each situation is like, how it makes you feel, and how you react to them.

People gravitate towards people who have the most knowledge within their field. It’s just simple common sense, right? If you’ve got a problem, you want the smartest person you can find to be able to help you find a solution that works. You don’t have to be a genius to be able to become a niche expert – you’ve just got to be willing to put in the work to truly understand your niche. When you can do that, you can provide a better value to people and that’s ultimately what people want: value.

Are you looking to become a niche expert in your field? Then you don’t need a doctoral degree and a bunch of initials after your name. Just follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to being seen as a world expert in your niche.

Tip #1: Start With a Higher Level of Discipline

It takes nearly 2,000 reading hours for someone to attain a doctoral agree. That equates to about one hour of reading per day about your particular subject. Increasing your knowledge base is critical to becoming a niche expert, which means you’ve got to do research! Putting time into your busy day to read will help you accomplish this. Even if you can’t set aside a full one-hour block, you could try setting aside four 15 minute blocks.

Tip #2: Make Learning a Habit

It takes about three weeks of doing the same thing every day in order to make an action become a habit. Whatever blocks of time you set aside to read, research, and study, make sure that you are setting aside the same blocks of time every day. This will help to develop your reading time as a habit! After the first couple weeks of doing this, it will actually become harder for a few days to make the time to study. If you can push through during the tough choices, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a niche expert.

Tip #3: Allow Yourself To Succeed

One of the biggest factors that prevent personal success is a personal viewpoint that has already pre-determined that there won’t be any success whatsoever! When people don’t feel like they can succeed, that viewpoint becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, even if that person has the skills and opportunity to find success!

Don’t let negative self-talk affect you as you work toward becoming a niche expert. It’s not about your intelligence: it’s about your inner strength and willpower. You must have the will to succeed! If you can maintain that strength, you’ll become a niche expert – plain and simple.

Are You Ready To Get Started?

All it takes to become a niche expert is a level of dedication and focus toward the goal of learning more about your chosen field than anyone else. If you’re willing to put in the work and can make positive decisions toward meeting your goal of becoming an expert, then you’ll be able to find that success you want. It might seem easy to do on paper… but unless you can drive yourself toward that goal, it’s much, much harder than people think.

With the economy in the dump worldwide many people are desperately looking for work and will take almost anything that comes along, but the fact is that no matter what you do 40 hours (or more) of your week are going to be spent at your job. That’s a lot of hours, to be sure, and so if you can you should really make sure that your new job is the right ‘fit’ for you.

Let’s face it, even if you like what you do working at a place that you don’t like is akin to eating your favorite breakfast cereal with water instead of milk; sure you can do it but it’s not very satisfying and takes all the joy out of it. Plus it’s a soggy mess.

With that in mind, here are 5 key aspects you should keenly look at before starting any new job.

1) The Company culture. This is very important for a number of reasons. If, for example, you’re an outgoing and laid-back person but the company is buttoned-down and rigid you’re going to have problems fitting in. If you like casual Friday’s and they have a strict dress code you’ll soon find yourself resentful and unhappy.

2) Company Management. If we’re being honest dealing with management is always a bit of a problem but some companies make it easier than others. For example, some have policies that make approaching management and voicing new ideas or grievances a lot easier. Some don’t however, and if you work for a company that puts management on a pedestal you better be prepared to sign yourself up for primal scream therapy pronto.

3) The Products and / or services you sell. Another deal breaker, if your new company sells products that you wouldn’t even give to your mother-in-law you may soon find yourself regretting your decision to work there. Being able to take pride in what you do is an essential part of happiness on the job.

4) The Industry you work in. Similar to your products and services your company sells, if you work in an industry that is negative your work life will be negative also. If you’re a fervent non-smoker, for example, you probably won’t be happy working for a tobacco company. If, however, you do smoke and they have ‘free cigarette Fridays’ then by all means go for it!

5) The Size of the company. This depends on what role you see yourself playing in the overall scheme of things. If you’re content being lost in the herd then working for a company that employs hundreds or even thousands of people may not be a problem, but if you want to make a difference (even if it’s small) you probably should work for a smaller company where your voice will be heard.

No matter where you work if you feel valuable and appreciated you will be happier and more satisfied no matter the product or service. If you don’t, even working for a teeth whitening company won’t keep a smile on your face. Choose wisely and good luck.